Subaru WRX STI sets another lap record at Isle of Mann TT

Subaru set yet another Isle of Mann TT record this year.

Handout, Subaru

This race-prepped Subaru is pretty much as quick as a motorcycle

by
Nick Tragianis | June 7, 2016

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Each year, a tiny island between England and Ireland becomes a haven for speed freaks. Most of them ride motorcycles at ludicrous paces, but Subaru is making a habit out of jumping in and proving four wheels can certainly run with two.

This year is no exception, with Subaru bringing out a race-prepped WRX STI in an attempt to set yet another record around the 60-odd kilometre road course. Previously, they’ve teamed up with ace driver Mark Higgings and sat him behind the wheel of mostly showroom-fresh WRX STIs, but this year was different.

Higgings and Subaru still teamed up this year, but the run was different in the sense that you can’t exactly walk through the doors of your closest Subaru dealer and tell the kind salesperson, “I want a WRX STI just like the one Mark Higgings drives.” No, this one is race-prepped and has a 550 horsepower under the hood.

The end result is a 17:35.139 lap around the course, averaging out to about 207 km/h and with a top speed of just over 271 km/h. That’s really fast – to the point where it’s not only nearly two minutes better than last year’s lap, but most impressively, 30 seconds shy and within 6 km/h of the current motorcycle record. Which, incidentally, was set last year by John McGuinness atop a Honda CBR1000RR.

Watch the video below. As if the record-setting Subaru isn’t convincing enough, the cameraman even makes engine sounds.